A 65-year-old Hilo woman died Sunday (March 11, 2001) after being involved in a one-car crash on Saddle Road.

Responding to an 11:49 a.m. call, Hilo police determined that the vehicle was traveling east near the 17-mile marker when the driver lost control, and the vehicle crossed the centerline and overturned on the mauka side of the road.

The driver, a 73-year-old Hilo man, was flown by helicopter to the Hilo Medical Center and later to Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, where he was reported in critical condition.

The victim died at the scene and was pronounced dead at 2:15 p.m. at the Hilo hospital.

The names of the driver and passenger are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

Both the driver and his passenger were wearing their seatbelts.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers are continuing an investigation and have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. Speed is believed to have been a factor in the accident.

Sunday’s death was the second traffic fatality so far this year on Big Island, compared to seven at the same time last year.